CRANACH, Lucas the Elder
(b. 1472, Kronach, d. 1553, Weimar)

Virgin and Child with a Bunch of Grapes

1509-10
Oil on panel, 72 x 44 cm
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

The Virgin is holding a bunch of grapes which the Infant Christ is eating. Behind the figures lies an extensive mountainous landscape and above it a brilliant blue sky. The mountains in the background take on a blue hue, a device used to represent the effects of atmosphere on a distant landscape. The cold and monochromatic tones of the landscape serve to emphasize the strong colours of the main figures.